Tiger By The Tail
by Mahler Avatar
Summary: When Kim accepts a last minute babysitting job, she finds out that she may have bitten off more than she can chew when she locks horns with an irascible 6 year old named Calvin and his toy tiger, Hobbes. But things get really dicey when she's called away on an emergency mission vs. Dr. Drakken, unknowingly bringing along a tiny stowaway. A Kim Possible/Calvin & Hobbes crossover.
1. A Desperate Call

_Kim Possible has faced many foes and villains, from mad scientists bent on taking over the world to insidious aliens determined to subjugate our planet. But there is one specific challenge she has never faced: a terror so devious and a force so elemental as to defy all reason, and therefore, any hope of control. Ironically, it is a mischievous six-year-old boy and his stuffed toy tiger. A boy named... Calvin._

_As the saying goes, when an irresistable force meets an immovable object, something's got to give. This is their story..._

_And the standard disclaimers apply: Kim Possible and Calvin and Hobbes are both owned by their respective copyright owners, and I gain nothing from this financially. But I do get quite a kick out of writing stories like this. Especially since I was very much like Calvin as a child. Just ask my parents. _

_And leave a review, I'll give you a repsonse and perhaps a hint of what's to come... _

* * *

The father pulled into the driveway after a long day at work. He smiled, patting the exquisitely wrapped anniversary present sitting on the seat beside him. His wife would be wearing that new diamond broach while they enjoyed a quiet, relaxing dinner at the swankiest restaurant in Upperton, _Chez Couteaux_. He walked up to the front door of his home with a jaunty spring in his step, confident in the belief that his wife had found a babysitter for their son Calvin. His mind was at complete ease on this issue, as he had specifically asked her to take care of that as he rushed out the door to work that morning.

Or so he thought.

Inside, the wife smiled as she saw her husband walking up the path, thankful that he obtained the services of a sitter while they went out for their anniversary dinner that evening. For as he was leaving the house early that morning, she had clearly heard him say that he'd take care of getting one.

Or so she thought.

As he walked through the door, both the husband and wife simultaneously queried the other, "Well, who did you get?"

Their respective eyes widened in fear as he stumbled, "What do you mean who did _I _get? Who did _you_ get? Didn't you hear me ask you to find a babysitter when I left this morning?"

She growled back, "No, what I heard was that _you _would get a sitter..."

"No, I asked _would _you get a sitter! And I distinctly heard you answer, 'Okay dear.' Or was I hearing things?"

"No, I was acknowledging what I thought I heard _you _say, which was that _you_ would get a sitter..."

Panic immediately began to set in.

He frantically babbled, "Quick, get our master list! I'll take the first page and use my cell phone while you take the second page and use the landline! We haven't a moment to lose!"

A half hour later they were both close to admitting defeat. The wife bemoaned, "No luck at all, honey. I called Rosalyn first of course, but she just laughed and hung up on me."

He lamented, "Well, I guess that's not surprising, since Calvin flushed her biology homework down the toilet the last time she was here."

With an air of trepidation, she asked, "So, how did you do with your calls?"

He groused back, "I didn't even get _that_ far. Most people just hung up on me without saying even a single word, just as soon as I mentioned Calvin's name."

"What are we going to do, then? _Chez Cousteaux_ will permanently blacklist us if we cancel the reservation at this late hour!"

He suggested, "Well, we _could_ take him with us..."

Both of them broke out in hysterical laughter at the thought. Wiping a tear from her eye, she replied, "Okay, seriously..."

Taking off his glasses and massaging the bridge of his nose, he muttered back, "All right, let me check the internet real quick. Maybe there's someone I can find who's never heard of Calvin _and_ doesn't live over fifty miles away."

She sadly shook her head back and forth. "You _do_ believe in miracles, don't you?"

He sat down at the computer and frantically typed a few words into the search engine. 'Babysitter, Tri-City Area.'

"Well, here goes nothing." He closed his eyes as he hit the 'Enter' button.

Fearfully peeking through squinted eyes, he was surprised to see the link to a website appear.

"Kim Possible dot com?" He continued to read the home page description.

'_The Girl Who Can Do Anything: World-saving, Cheerleading and Babysitting my specialty!'_

"Well, kind of an unusual skill set if I do say so, but beggars can't be choosers..."

Hardly believing his luck, he typed in his name, email address and phone number in the fields provided. Hitting the 'Send' button, he lifted up his eyes and breathed a silent prayer. "Please, please, dear Lord, make this person available, whoever she is..."

* * *

Wade was casually slurping a soda when his computer began urgently beeping. Thinking that it might be a law enforcement agancy warning Kim of yet another break-in by a mad scientist into a top secret lab, he instantly accessed the message. Relaxing a bit after discovering that it was only a request for a babysitter, he signalled Kim.

_Beep Beep BEE Beep_...

The redheaded teen immediately answered. "What's the sitch, Wade?"

"A hit on your website, Kim."

"What, another bad guy needing the Team Possible treatment?"

"No, a babysitting job, actually. Maybe not as exciting as capturing another supervillain I'm sure, but they're sure willing to pay well."

"When's the gig?"

"Tonight, and beginning just an hour from now. They must be desperate, Kim. You might even be able to hold out for a little more money if you play your cards right."

She smiled. "Ever the businessman, eh, Wade?"

He shrugged. "Hey, it's what I do."

Kim huffed, "Well, this _is_ 'Ron night,' but I sure could use the money, especially since it's only three weeks until Christmas, and I really would like to get him a nice present. So I'm sure he'll understand. That is to say, I _hope_ he'll understand..."

Kim picked up the phone and dialed the number Wade had given to her. Someone instantly answered even before the first ring had finished.

"Hello, Mr. Watterson? This is Kim Possible. I understand you need a sitter for tonight? Yes, I can do it, and... Mr. Watterson, are you okay? It sounds like you're crying... oh, tears of joy, huh? That's really great..."

A short time later, and after a rather tense convo with her boyfriend Ron Stoppable, along with a promise to make it up to him the next evening, Kim was driving her SL coupe toward her last-minute gig. But Ron's warning continued to ring in her ears.

"_I don't know, KP, but I've got a bad feeling about this. I've heard quite a few rumors about that kid, and none of them good. He seems to be about a hundred miles of wrongsick road, so please be careful..." _

Kim gave an off-handed shrug as she turned onto the street where the home was located. "Hey, it's just a six-year-old kid. Just how bad could he possibly be, anyway?"

She quickly spotted the address and pulled into the driveway. When she got out of the car, her mouth immediately dropped open at the tableux that met her astounded eyes.

"Whoa..."

In the front yard before her stood a half dozen snowmen. But these weren't your usual joyful winter creations, and 'stood' was a term best used loosely. One snowman was using the next snowman's head like a bowling ball, and another had been apparently cut in half by a speeding sled. Yet another had been built around a tree, giving the impression that the hapless snowman had been impaled by said tree. The next one had three eyes of coal, two carrot noses and a hideous grin on its ghastly face. The last snowman looked like it was trying to climb out of the snow-covered earth as if it were a frozen zombie.

Kim involuntarily shivered, and not just because of the cold. "Wow, this kid obviously has a few issues. Still, I get the strange feeling that Ron would be right at home here..."

But someone else had just noticed her arrival. From behind the curtains in the upstairs window, the eyes of a fearful six-year old peered out.

"Oh, no! A baby-sitter! Red alert, Hobbes!"

"Well, at least it's not Rosalyn," answered his pet tiger. To anyone else, Hobbes appeared as a toy stuffed animal. But Calvin knew better.

The tyke continued, "Yeah, but she looks awfully scary with that fiery red hair of hers. What if she turns out to be even _worse_ than Rosalyn?"

Hobbes shrugged, "Well, let's go and find out."

Calvin continued with a wicked grin. "Yeah, good idea. But a preemptive strike might be _just_ the thing to keep her off balance."

The tiger gave a pleasant growl deep in his throat. "Sounds good to me. The best defense is a good offense, so I've heard..."

Outside, Kim took a deep breath, and walked up to the front door.

"Well, here goes nothing..."

_**TBC...**_


	2. Opening Shots

_Based on all the reviews and follows this fic has gotten so far, this definitely seems to be a story whose time has finally come. _

_But before Kim and Calvin continue along the edge of the Grand Canyon in a red sports car at 100 miles an hour right before the steering locks and the brakes fail (let the reader understand...), first, a big round of thanks to my faithful KP comrades and reviewers Sentinel103, Eddy13, CajunBear73, Jimmy1201 and temporaryinsanity91, and to those new to the KP franchise (and my particular brand of insanity): Fanatic97 (I won't leave you in the lurch, I promise!), Comet Moon (Right back at you!), and PabloPenquin1800 (Welcome, and there's much more to come...) _

_And leave a review, get a reply. What a deal! Now, in the words of Calvin, _"_The neighbors hear the boom echoing across the canyon... They pile into a mini-van to investigate... What will happen to them?_"

* * *

_Opening Shots_

Even before Kim had a chance to ring the doorbell, the door flew open to reveal Calvin's relieved father, warmly greeting her and gushing with thanks.

"Kim Possible? It's so nice to meet you! I can't tell you how glad I am that you could make it on such short notice. You're a real lifesaver!"

She smiled back politely. "So I'm told. So, where's Calvin?"

The sproing of a toy gun being fired was instantly heard, as Calvin scored a direct hit on Kim's forehead with a suction-cupped dart.

Without skipping a beat, Kim deduced, "Ah, the kid behind the trigger of that dart gun, I assume?"

As Calvin's mom apologized profusely to Kim, the father hunched down and fixed his rebellious son with an angry stare.

"Calvin, you will apologize to Kim _right now_, young man!"

Calvin huffed, "Sorry."

Hobbes snickered, "Liar. You're just sorry you didn't get off a second shot."

The mischievous child snickered back gleefully.

His father continued in a stern voice, "Now while we're gone, you will behave and do everything that Kim tells you. Or else I have two words for you: _Protective Services._"

The boy responded with a puzzled look. "Huh?"

Hobbes whispered something in Calvin's ear. The child swallowed convulsively, now fully comprehending his father's implied threat.

"Uh, right, Dad. Got it."

With an embarrassed smile, the father turned back to Kim. "Here's the number of the restaurant you can reach us at, if necessary."

He thought fearfully, "_And I fervently hope that it WON'T be necessary_..."

He continued, "We should be home no later than 11 pm or so. Thanks again, and good luck."

With a catch in her voice, his wife tearfully added, "Goodbye, Kim."

Kim thought that sounded more like a last farewell than a mere bye-bye, see you later.

A moment later, and they were gone. Kim shivered as she recalled Ron's warning. _"That kid's a hundred miles of wrongsick road..."_

As Kim turned to address her young charge, the scene slowly morphed into a desolate, barren landscape on the dusty surface of a distant planet. A dim sun shown down on Calvin as he found himself surveying his tiny red flying saucer, wrecked beyond repair after yet another crash landing.

Adjusting his black rectangular goggles, he bemoaned, "Once again, Spaceman Spiff is stranded on an alien world without any hope of rescue. He must now scout around for food and water in order to survive."

Suddenly, he heard the horrifying shriek of an alien life form rapidly approaching.

"Zounds! It's a grotesque Scum Being! Our hero must run for cover before he's spotted!"

Diving behind a rock outcropping, he pulled out his Death Ray Zorcher just as the alien reached out for him with its monstrous limbs. Scowling back with a look of fierce defiance, he opened fire.

"Eat hot death, you malodorous monster!"

But his weapon had no effect.

"What's this? Spaceman Spiff is defenseless against the hideous beast! Is it all over for our intrepid explorer?"

Grabbing Calvin out from behind the living room couch, Kim wrenched the water pistol out of his hand.

"All right, Calvin! Gimme that! And before you pull any other crazy stunts, let's set some ground rules _right now_. Rule One: no more water pistols, dart guns or any other toy weapons! But I'll make you a deal. If you behave, you get to stay up until 10. If not, you go to bed _right_ after dinner. Clear?"

"Aw, but Mom and Dad always let me stay up late on Fridays!" he whined.

"Well, I'm not them, am I? Besides, you should have thought about that before soaking me with that water pistol. So if you _don't_ want me to become your worst nightmare, you'll do everything I ask without question, understood?"

Hobbes whispered, "Boy, is she strict."

Calvin muttered, "Yeah, and I think she _is_ almost as bad as Rosalyn."

Kim snapped back, "What was that, Calvin?"

"Nothing..." he moaned.

Kim had learned long ago that if you gave a child an inch, he would take a mile. But she was quickly realizing that Calvin would probably take anything right up to a light year if she wasn't careful. As she rung out her wet hair, she realized that Ron's warning to her wasn't to be taken lightly. She would be taking no chances with this kid, that was for certain.

"Okay, now it's time for dinner. Your mom didn't have any time to fix anything since she and your Dad were too busy trying to find you a sitter, so it looks like it's macaroni and cheese tonight."

Calvin stuck out his tongue and made a face. "Yuchh."

Kim shot back, "Hey, it's good for you, and it's a lot more than a lot of other kids on this planet are getting to eat tonight, so don't complain."

He groaned, "Boy, she sounds just like Mom."

Hobbes brightened up. "Hey, maybe Kim can add some tuna to it! Tigers _love_ tuna."

Calvin perked up as well. "Yeah! Can you add some tuna to that, Kim? You wouldn't want Hobbes to starve, now, would you?"

Kim cautiously scratched her chin. "Well, I guess that would be all right..."

Smiling, Calvin sat down at the table and tied a napkin around Hobbes neck.

The tiger began to gasp, "Too tight! Too tight!"

The young boy loosened it, but Hobbes complained again, "Aw, now it's too baggy. So now I'll get food all over my fur."

Calvin griped, "Hey, do it _yourself _then if you don't like the way I do it!"

Hobbes airily replied, "Well, if you did it right in the first place, I wouldn't have to complain."

"Hey, I've had just about enough of your lip, you mangy, flea-bitten..."

Hobbes snarled back, "Hey! _Who's _mangy and flea-bitten? I spend hours grooming myself every day. You ever take a look at _yourself _in the mirror?"

Hobbes gave him a push, and Calvin pushed back even harder. The tiger let out a fierce growl deep in his throat as he took another swipe at Calvin, who had finally had enough.

"All right you scuzbag, that's it!"

And the fight was on, each of them snarling, biting and scratching the other, racing around the kitchen like a whirlwind. Chasing Hobbes into the living room, Calvin smashed into an end table, knocking over a lamp which fell to the floor with a loud crash. Quickly pursuing them, Kim barely had time to prevent the china cabinet that Calvin had just slammed into from toppling over in his pursuit of Hobbes.

Grabbing them both by their collars, Kim screamed, "KNOCK IT OFF, RIGHT NOW!"

Calvin wriggled helplessly in her grasp while bitterly complaining, "He started it! He didn't like the way I tied his napkin!"

Kim slammed both the unruly child and his toy tiger into their chairs, desperately wishing that she had something to actually tie up the defiant youngster with. Quickly tying napkins around each of their necks, she growled, "Now you just sit there and behave, and do not even _think_ of moving from that spot until you dinner is ready!"

Hobbes happily beamed back, "Hah! Kim fastened my napkin _perfectly_. It's just right, in fact. And if you had done it correctly in the first place, none of this would have happened."

The smug tiger ended his taunt by sticking his tongue out at Calvin, who nearly began to fight back again before deciding it wasn't worth it.

"Besides," Hobbes added with a smirk, "I think she _likes_ me."

Calvin sneered back, "Yeah, in your dreams, you moron."

While she prepared dinner, Kim marveled over Calvin's relentless energy, realizing that there was nothing that the Tweebs had over him in any way, shape or form.

She mused, "_Wow, I wonder if his folks have tried putting him on Ritalin. But that would probably be just about as effective as using a squirt gun on a forest fire_."

As she dished up his plate, she continued to wonder, "_And that toy tiger of his... he treats it almost as if it were alive. Hmm. Maybe I can threaten to take it away from him as a last-ditch resort, if that becomes necessary_..."

She placed the plate of food in front of the boisterous tyke. "There you go. Mac, cheese and tuna. Are you happy now?"

She heaved a resigned sigh. "_And I'll never complain about eating at Bueno Nacho ever again_..."

But before Calvin began to dig in, he complained, "Hey, there's only one plate here. What about Hobbes' dinner?"

Having realized how inseparable Calvin was from Hobbes, Kim decided to play along. "Why don't you two share? Then once you've both finished with that, you can both have seconds."

"Well, okay..." He began to stir up the gooey glop, stretching out the melted cheese from his plate with his fork. Making a face at the stringy mess, it snapped back like a rubber band. And then it began to snicker evilly back at him.

"_Hey, kid! I'm not going down without a fight!_"

A gooey tentacle reached out to slap him in the face, followed by another which wrapped itself around his arm.

"_I've got you now, kid!_"

Calvin let out a yell as yet another slimy feeler extended around his other arm.

"_The tables sure are turned now, aren't they? Time to feed YOU to my children!_"

He instantly lashed back, "No way, you putrid plate of pathetic pasta!"

And with that, he fiercely began stabbing the hapless mess, mangling the glutinous paste and splattering it all over the table as well as the kitchen wall.

"CALVIN! WHAT IN THE WORLD DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

With an innocent look, he suddenly looked up at the fuming teen, the color of her face now very close to the hue of her flaming red hair.

"No problem, Kim. I killed it before it could get me. Everything's under control now."

Kim stared at him in wonder as he continued eating as if nothing had happened.

Ron's voice began echoing again through her mind. "_wrongsick road... wrongsick road..._"

She sadly wagged her head. "Boy, this is going to be one_ looooong_ night..."

After noticing what time it was, Calvin quickly finished his dinner, grabbed Hobbes and ran into the living room, closely followed by Kim.

"All right you little deviant. What are you up to now?"

Calvin switched on the TV set. "Mom and Dad always let me stay up and watch movies with Hobbes!"

Kim folded her arms. "Oh, really?" She wasn't quite convinced, but decided to play along. "And what movie were you planning on watching?"

Calvin grinned back, "Attack of the Coed Zombie Vixens. It starts in five minutes."

Kim's eyes shot wide open. "Uh, so not going to happen."

He whined back, "Aw, c'mon! I have to watch it for one of my classes and do a report!"

Kim simply gave him a huge roll of her eyes.

Hobbes whispered, "She's not buying it..."

Calvin huffed, "Well, duh, Mr. Smartypants."

Kim grinned back, "Nice try, Calvin, but you're just making that up. And I think you'd have to be a _lot_ older first before your parents would allow you to watch a movie like that." _If you live that long, that is. _

She tapped her chin. "But come to think of it, it does actually sound like the kind of movie Ron would like..."

After scrolling through the program guide, she pleasantly announced, "Now, _here's _a movie I think your parents would approve of you watching. It's an animated classic on the Disney Channel."

Calvin took a look and grumbled, "_The Impossibles_? Yeah, it's okay I guess..."

Hobbes was much more excited, however. "Hey, it's great movie, with awesome superheroes and good family values!"

Calvin snarled back, "Yeah, exactly _your _kind of movie, you sissy."

Kim tried to remain upbeat. "While you two get comfortable, I'll go make us some popcorn. How does that sound?"

Hobbes replied, "Sounds great to me. Tigers are always hungry for a snack."

But Calvin remained a tad miffed. "I'd still rather watch that zombie vixen movie, but at least _The Impossibles_ has a few superheroes in it. They're just not as cool as Stupendous Man or Captain Napalm."

A few minutes later, Kim returned with a bowl of popcorn. She opted not to serve any soda pop, especially anything with caffeine in it, given Calvin's non-stop hyperactivity. However, she was strongly tempted to give him some soda spiked with a little brandy she had spotted on the kitchen shelf, but quickly dismissed the idea.

With a heavy sigh she grumbled, "As tempting as that might be, I'd never work in this town again..."

After a few minutes, Calvin seemed to be engrossed in the movie, so after they finished their popcorn she excused herself.

"Calvin, I have some ferociously tough trigonometry homework I have to finish, so I'll be in the kitchen while you watch the movie. Just call me if you need anything. And please don't burn the house down in the meantime?"

She immediately added, "Seriously?"

A frightening thought suddenly passed through her mind. "_Brrrr. I just hope I haven't given him any ideas, like I have with Ron. The kid's obviously got a wilder imagination than Ron EVER had..._"

A half hour later, Kim realized that Calvin had been awfully quiet for an unusually long time. If she had had a spider sense, it would have definitely been tingling right about now.

"Calvin?"

Sensing that the unruly child was once again up to no good, she carefully walked back into the living room. Hobbes was still on the couch, but Calvin was nowhere to be found. She tiredly began to massage her aching temples.

"Oh, great, here we go again..." She called through the house, "Calvin, where are you?"

No reply.

"Wonderful. Why do I suddenly feel like I'm on a mission against a super villain instead of on a simple babysitting gig?"

She thought she heard a slight noise upstairs, and stealthily began ascending the stairway.

"Calvin, what are you up to? Come back downstairs right now, before I..."

Her sentence was cut short as a crimson blur dropped on her from above. With a wild war cry, Calvin yelled, "Liberty and justice will forever triumph over oppression, evil Sitter Woman!"

Kim's reflexes had been honed to a fine edge after her many years as a crime-fighting cheerleader, and this evening was no exception. Easily sidestepping the plunging imp, she grabbed his cape. Calvin instantly found himself hanging impotently from his superhero outfit, flailing away in midair.

Within his mind, Calvin's superhero identity suddenly began to weaken. "What's happening? My powers are useless against Sitter Woman! But I thought _nothing _could defeat Stupendous Man?"

Kim lifted him up until she was eye to eye with the wildly obstinate child. "Guess again, you little rugrat. In the real world, I'm known as the Girl Who Can Do Anything. And don't you forget it. Oh, and by the way..."

She reached into her pocket and removed a slip of paper. "You know what this is?"

He shot back with a churlish look. "No, what?"

She spoke softly, but imbued every word with a sense of menace. "The telephone number of _Chez Couteaux_, the restaurant where your parents are enjoying their anniversary dinner. You wouldn't want me to_ spoil _that by having to call them and cut their evening short, would you?"

Calvin suddenly looked appalled. "You wouldn't!"

Grinning back at him in triumph, she growled, "Oh, _wouldn't_ I?"

He finally ceased his struggling, but still managed to glare back at Kim. "Hmph. I guess this is just another moral victory for Stupendous Man."

He started to lighten up a bit. "But I gotta say, that was a totally amazing catch. Where did you learn a move like that?"

She replied offhandedly, "If you must know, seven years of cheerleading and four years of crime fighting."

Calvin's jaw dropped. "Wow! You really fight crime? As in _real_ bad guys?"

As she lowered him to the floor, Kim answered, "You bet. And I've mastered some ferocious martial arts skills too, including sixteen forms of Kung Fu."

"Cool! Then you _are_ some kind of superhero, aren't you?"

Amazed that she was starting to get a little respect from the tiny terror, she replied, "Not really. I just use my talents to help people whenever possible. No big," she added with a shrug.

She thought to herself, "_Unlike some kids who make my life a living hell..."_

Out loud she commanded, "But you've had enough fun for one night, Calvin. Time for bed."

"Aw, shucks! I don't want to go to bed yet..."

She held up the slip of paper, whereupon the child immediately caved.

"Oh, all right..."

As he grumpily marched downstairs to retrieve Hobbes, he passed by a small planter filled with his mom's flowers. A wicked smile broke out on his tiny face as the scene once again began to change.

"Calvin suddenly shrinks down in size, no bigger than a mouse. He'll hide from Kim behind this huge jungle flower!"

But instead, he began to sink into the muddy jungle floor as he made a terrible realization.

"Aarghh! This mud is radioactive! It transforms Calvin into a grotesque dinosaur!"

He began to snarl as he tried to free himself from the sticky sludge.

"Caked in thick, gooey mud, the hideous monster emerges from the primeval bog, ready to catch any unsuspecting passers-by unawares. Nothing can stop him now!"

From the other room, Kim called out, "Calvin, did you wash up before going to bed?"

He answered from beneath hooded eyes, a devilish smile widening on his tiny face. "Why don't you come and see?"

Forewarned by Calvin's tone of voice, Kim quickly grabbed a washcloth and a bar of soap, preparing once again to do battle. With a fierce war cry, she charged into the room and grabbed the recalcitrant child.

"Hey, quit it! Let go!" he yelled.

"Calvin, you're a filthy mess! It looks like you got hit by a round of artillery!"

Calvin proudly shot back, "Yeah, well maybe I did! A mere mortal couldn't survive a shell and live to tell about it, but Stupendous Man is invulnerable!"

Kim dragged him into the bathroom and furiously began scrubbing away. "Well, you're not invulnerable to soap and water, and that's exactly what you're going to get!"

Ten minutes later, and with the bathroom floor now ankle deep in water, Calvin was finally washed, dried and dressed for bed. Kim was exhausted, but at least she had won this latest round, once again triumphing as the proverbial immovable object versus the irresistible force that was Calvin.

As Kim flipped off the light and closed his bedroom door, she mumbled to herself, "Wow, talk about a Pyrrhic victory. That kid is more of workout than even our fiercest cheer routines. And now I'm so exhausted that I don't think I have the energy to concentrate on my homework." She added with a heavy sigh, "No amount of money is worth this kind of hassle. I wonder if Club Banana needs any extra part-time help over the holidays..."

Curled up in his bed, Calvin let out a small sigh. "Well, at least we made it to 8:45."

"And that's longer than we usually make it with Rosalyn. But a story still would be nice."

Calvin sat right up. "What a great idea, Hobbes!"

His closest friend continued, "Just make sure she tells us a story with tigers in them."

Calvin called out, "Hey, Kim! Tell us a bedtime story!"

Kim opened the door and gave him a long-suffering look. "A bedtime story? Seriously?"

"Sure! You can tell me about one of your adventures! Please?"

Figuring that she could probably keep his attention better and a closer eye on him as well by telling a story, she finally relented. In any case, it would be less tiring than having to chase him around the house once again after he got bored.

"All right. But you have to promise to listen, and then once I'm done, it's lights out and no more monkey business. Deal?"

Calvin eagerly beamed back, "Deal!"

Kim sat down at the end of the bed and began her tale. "Once upon a time, there was an evil villain named Dr. Drakken..."

_**Next week: Bedtime Story...  
**_


End file.
